Blog of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research

Collecting Stem Cells from Menstrual Blood: Help Out a Student Researcher

January 21st, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

Because the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, regenerates each month, some researchers believe menstrual blood may be a viable source of stem cells. Stem cells have been found in the uterine lining, although it is uncertain whether healthy, viable stem cells are shed with other menstrual fluids. The research is ongoing. So Chelsea Briganti, senior at Parsons School of Design, may be ahead of her time.

Her senior thesis involves the design of a storage container to preserve menstrual fluid for later use. Her idea is to develop a design for a successful consumer product. If you’d like to help her out, click here to complete a short survey (only five questions) and contribute to her data set.

Confidential to Chelsea: Please let us know when you no longer need survey respondents.

Post to Twitter Post to Plurk Post to Yahoo Buzz Post to Delicious Post to Digg Post to Facebook Post to MySpace Post to Reddit Post to StumbleUpon

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in DIY, Menstruation, New Research, Reusable menstrual products, anatomy | Comments Off

New Treatment for Uterine Fibroids

January 18th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

Illustration of radiofrequency ablation technique to remove fibroids.Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal reports a new surgical technique for relief of uterine fibroids is currently being tested at six medical centers in the U.S., along with two in Mexico and one in Guatemala. Presently, the only sure cure is hysterectomy, because fibroids sometimes grow back when suppressed with drugs or removed individually.

Fibroids are benign growths in the uterus that are estimated to occur in as many as 70% of women. Fibroids are often asymptomatic; many women don’t even know they have them. But fibroids can become large and painful, and can cause heavy menstrual bleeding. Sometimes they can grow large enough to interfere with other organs.

The new technique under investigation is called radiofrequency ablation. The procedure involves three small incisions: one for the laproscopic camera so the surgeon can see inside the abdomen, a second for an intra-abdominal utrasound probe to determine the size and location of fibroids, and a third for the Halt device, a needle electrode that penetrates the fibroid and burns the cells, which are eventually reabsorbed by the body. The device also cauterizes the incision to minimize bleeding.

In early tests outside the U.S. with 70 women, 90% were satisfied with the results. It is unknown whether fibroids destroyed with this technique will grow back.


Post to Twitter Post to Plurk Post to Yahoo Buzz Post to Delicious Post to Digg Post to Facebook Post to MySpace Post to Reddit Post to StumbleUpon

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Health Care, Menorrhagia, New Research | 1 Comment »

Celebrities! They’re Just Like Us!

January 15th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

Screen shot of Katy Perry's Twitter message announcing that she is menstruating.Since I am both far too old to follow Katy Perry on Twitter and too completely uninterested in celebrities’ personal lives to read The Huffington Post (WTF? Didn’t HP used to be a political blog?), a friend had to tip me off to the big news that Katy Perry is menstruating and presumably not pregnant.

The image at right is of one of Ms. Perry’s Twitter messages from Wednesday, which reads, “ur gonna make me cry, maybe that’s my period tho. THAT’S RIGHT I’M BLEEDING. Face. Better luck next month peepz”.

As far as I’m concerned, Katy Perry can tweet about her period until the cows come home – hell, that’s what Twitter is for. And in general, the more open acknowledgment that Menstruation Exists, the better for all menstruators. But the comments on the Huffington Post article provide another fascinating study in communication about menstruation. I don’t have enough Sanity Watchers points to read all six pages (and still accumulating) of comments, but I did scan a couple of pages. Most of the comments are along the lines of “TMI” and “It’s gross to discuss that kind of stuff.” One Perry fan posted this remark:  “Katy, get pregnant fast so that you can talk about that instead of this.”

Apparently it’s acceptable to talk about the contents of one’s uterus only when it’s full.

[via my buddy genehack]



Post to Twitter Post to Plurk Post to Yahoo Buzz Post to Delicious Post to Digg Post to Facebook Post to MySpace Post to Reddit Post to StumbleUpon

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Celebrities, Communication, Internet, Menstruation | 2 Comments »

New Data on Toxic Shock Syndrome

December 17th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling

The first known case of fatal TSS related to an IUD was recently reported recently. Here’s the abstract from the November 2009 Annals of Emergency Medicine (the full article is behind a subscription firewall):

Toxic shock syndrome is a rare toxin-mediated condition that can rapidly produce multiorgan failure and severe shock. Toxic shock syndrome has been previously recognized in various clinical situations relating to surgery, nasal packing, abscesses, burns, and most notably menstrual-related cases. This case report describes a previously healthy 33-year-old woman presenting to the emergency department with complaints of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea; vital signs at triage were normal. Within hours, she developed shock and cardiopulmonary arrest. The patient met all 6 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention diagnostic criteria for toxic shock syndrome, and her intrauterine device grew out Staphylococcus aureus. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case in the medical literature of fatal toxic shock syndrome related to an intrauterine device.

Post to Twitter Post to Plurk Post to Yahoo Buzz Post to Delicious Post to Digg Post to Facebook Post to MySpace Post to Reddit Post to StumbleUpon

Tags: , ,
Posted in Birth Control, Disposable menstrual products, Health Care, New Research | 1 Comment »

The Wandering Uterus

December 5th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling
Image from Illustrated Encyclopedia of Sex, 1950, Cadillac Publishing Company

Image from Illustrated Encyclopedia of Sex, 1950, Cadillac Publishing Company

Guest Post By Elissa Stein

Cross-posted at Wonders & Marvels

While the uterus is a remarkable part of a woman’s anatomy—it can house a growing baby, then shrink back to its original size, work month after month for 40 or so years regenerating its lining, keeping hormones in check—it is part of a greater whole.

But ancient Egyptians believed the uterus was a free-floating, independent, autonomous organ that wandered the body, its traveling ways causing all sorts of mental and physical maladies, disturbing and disrupting women from the inside out. A visit upward created respiratory issues, with anxiety thrown in, too much movement down south—intestinal distress.

To combat these problems doctors tried solutions at both ends, either feeding noxious substances to women, hoping to force the uterus away from the lungs and throat, or placing sweet smelling substances on the vulva, trying to coax the errant traveler back into place. Another solution? Marriage. Actually, sex. But, back then, sex alone was not prescribed by doctors as a viable treatment.  Continue reading...

Tags: , ,
Posted in Language | 1 Comment »

Hysteria: It’s HIS, too

November 15th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling

There’s a brief article in the current issue of The Lancet (free registration required) about the history of hysteria. Although I was aware of the history of the word referring to women’s health and behavior being determined by the uterus (hystera is Greek for womb), I did not know of the ancient belief that “retained sperm could contribute to male hysteria, igniting a debate which was to run for centuries over whether men could indeed suffer hysteria.” I’ve only heard of – and seen – the concept used against women. The article also references Elaine Showalter’s analysis of hysterical epidemics as a cultural phenomenon, but offers little analysis of its own.

Post to Twitter Post to Plurk Post to Yahoo Buzz Post to Delicious Post to Digg Post to Facebook Post to MySpace Post to Reddit Post to StumbleUpon

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Language, Men | Comments Off

The Quiet Uterus?

November 7th, 2009 by Chris Bobel

Guest Post by Moira Howes, Trent University

Uterus Vase by The Plug and Stephanie Rollin

Uterus Vase by The Plug and Stephanie Rollin

Over thirty years ago, Roger V. Short argued that regular menstrual cycling is probably a health hazard and thus, we should try to “keep the ovaries and the female reproductive tract in a state of quiescence when reproduction is not desired” [1]

More recently, Timothy Rowe, Head of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, University of British Columbia, claims that “the pill keeps a woman’s reproductive organs quiet and healthy”[2]
As a philosopher of science, I find the concept of a “quiescent” bodily organ fascinating, troubling and great fodder: there is nothing so tempting to a philosopher of science as a vague, unscientific and value-laden concept.

Short and Rowe use the concept of “quiescence” to describe a presumably defined state of the uterus, but the concept is vague. It’s also unscientific—it calls to mind the promises made for “stimulated” immune systems and “cleansed” livers at my local health food store. And, the quiescent uterus raises old value-laden associations between women and passivity. If the dormant, quiet, and weak uterus is healthy, is the active, energetic, and strong uterus unhealthy?  Continue reading...

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Birth Control, Language, New Research, Reproduction, ovulation | 3 Comments »

Readers should note that statements published in re: Cycling are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Society as a whole.